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In regards to representing yourself, it may seem obvious but always try to come accross as:

Professional

Creative

Smart

Different

Personally, if I were looking for someone to design me a website, I would look for the above 4 criteria.

Regarding creating the website seeming daunting, everyone struggles when adapting to a new media, but keep at it and you'll learn the ropes soon enough. Coding looks very complicated and a foreign language, which it is, but HTML & CSS are very easy to learn, especially with Dreamweaver.

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If you're a dab hand in Photoshop - create a web layout in there and then get a web developer to slice it and code it for you. That's what I did and it is currently being built/nearly finished by a friend of mine who builds sites for a living.

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If you're a dab hand in Photoshop - create a web layout in there and then get a web developer to slice it and code it for you. That's what I did and it is currently being built/nearly finished by a friend of mine who builds sites for a living.

Member

I was going to wait until I'd finished redesigning my own site before I started posting on here but I know how hard it is to design for yourself and to sell yourself so here's a couple of tips:

Do what you feel comfortable with, your website should reflect you and your work above current web trends (which change very quickly). If you personally prefer a more print-like editorial design then go for it, I've seen some really beautiful typographic websites, plus creating a magazine-esque layout and applying it to web will help you get acquainted with CSS. As Xenonsoft said, CSS may seem daunting at first but once it clicks you'll love it. Take a cue from a few of the popular design blogs, they follow very strict, almost print like layouts because the content is mostly text.

SiFR is a great tool when it comes to web typography. Put simply, it lets you use non-standard fonts by overwriting tags that you define with a flash file. The text that's being overwritten remains on the page for search engines and is still selectable by the user. Use it on your headings and titles to make your website look less 'webby'. (Mike Davidson - sIFR)

As the above posters have said, create your layout in PS or illy and when you're happy with it, slice it up and build it into your CSS. Your website will look far more consistent than something created straight in Dreamweaver.

Why not design your site, then give it to another student to take a look at and play around with. This can be beneficial for two reasons - 1) Everybody hits a wall when designing for themselves, and 2) a fresh pair of eyes can point out what's missing from your design. You could offer to do the same for them, I doubt you're the only person in your class who's having a few problems.

If you need a hand with any CSS or you want someone else to take a look at your design, give me a shout.